With diplomatic tensions easing, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to Ottawa and Toronto from 25–27 May, accompanied by a 150-strong delegation of Indian industry leaders. Reuters reports the mission will attempt to revive negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that stalled last year after a diplomatic row. According to government sources, India will push for a dedicated “Mobility Chapter” that would grant Indian professionals streamlined work permits in critical-mineral mining, clean-tech manufacturing and agri-food processing—sectors Ottawa is keen to expand. Canada, for its part, wants tariff relief on pulses and a framework to enhance pension-fund investment protections. Canadian entities already have an estimated USD 100 billion invested in India, and some 600 Canadian firms operate locally.
![Trade Minister Goyal to Lead 150-Member Delegation to Canada, Mobility Chapter Back on FTA Agenda]()
For companies planning these cross-border trips, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can simplify the paperwork on both Canadian and Indian visas, offering real-time requirement updates, document validation and courier coordination—support that helps executives secure travel authorizations quickly as policy changes unfold.
Industry groups say expanding that footprint to 1,000 companies, a target flagged by Goyal, will require predictable visa pathways on both sides. The delegation includes IT majors, textile exporters and ed-tech providers who rely on intra-company transfers and short-term business visitor visas. Immigration lawyers note that Canada’s Global Skills Strategy can approve work permits for LMIA-exempt ICTs in two weeks but that processing for Indian nationals has recently slipped to five. Stakeholders hope the visit will yield a bilateral “trusted employer” pilot to restore two-week service and create a reciprocal fast-track for Canadians posted to India’s fintech and renewable-energy hubs. If a CEPA outline is agreed this summer, corporates could see tariff concessions and mobility improvements enter force as early as fiscal-year 2027. Failure, analysts warn, would leave firms juggling overlapping compliance regimes just as supply chains pivot toward friend-shoring.
For companies planning these cross-border trips, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can simplify the paperwork on both Canadian and Indian visas, offering real-time requirement updates, document validation and courier coordination—support that helps executives secure travel authorizations quickly as policy changes unfold.
Industry groups say expanding that footprint to 1,000 companies, a target flagged by Goyal, will require predictable visa pathways on both sides. The delegation includes IT majors, textile exporters and ed-tech providers who rely on intra-company transfers and short-term business visitor visas. Immigration lawyers note that Canada’s Global Skills Strategy can approve work permits for LMIA-exempt ICTs in two weeks but that processing for Indian nationals has recently slipped to five. Stakeholders hope the visit will yield a bilateral “trusted employer” pilot to restore two-week service and create a reciprocal fast-track for Canadians posted to India’s fintech and renewable-energy hubs. If a CEPA outline is agreed this summer, corporates could see tariff concessions and mobility improvements enter force as early as fiscal-year 2027. Failure, analysts warn, would leave firms juggling overlapping compliance regimes just as supply chains pivot toward friend-shoring.
